Do Schools kill creativity?

I have to tell you, my creativity is pretty much nil right now, but that’s a function of overwork and too little sleep. I’m still trying, though, and getting ready to write grants to fund some of our outreach programs.

The problem is, it’s EASY to teach science badly. But to do it well–and to produce kids that treat life like a game of questions where you try to find the answers yourself, not just recite stuff you were told–is incredibly difficult.

I really enjoyed this TED talk about teaching and creativity, in particular. Also, it’s quite funny!

I liked this line:

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”

Posted by Gwen Pearson

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2 Comments

Our schools do kill creativity! Children are born with a natural curiosity and a willingness to be wrong. Somewhere along the way our kids are being taught to be fearful of being wrong. I think this is a travesty!!!

Schools definitely stifle creativity. When our oldest son drew an immensely detailed and well thought out Viking shield he wasn’t praised, he was criticised for drawing it as a triangle and not a circle. When he built a scale model of our croft, which tooks hours of measuring, scaling, drawing, cutting and making, he wasn’t praised, he was criticised for getting his parents to do it.

So, I teach them interesting things in my own peculiar way—such as showing them how to blow up toothpaste tubes while having a bath…

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